Security News > 2023 > January > Crypto exchanges freeze accounts tied to North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group

Two cryptocurrency exchanges have frozen accounts identified as having been used by North Korea's notorious Lazarus Group.

Lazarus Group is identified suspected of being a cybercrime crew run by the government of North Korea and is infamous for the WannaCry ransomware, attacking Sony Pictures and stealing secrets from energy companies.

North Korea steals crypto because sanctions make it hard for the rogue nation to access fiat currencies.

The US State Department does offer a $10 million reward for information on North Korea's state-sponsored hacking in the hope of more effectively combating North Korea's cybercrime program.

Those attempts were spotted by ZachXBT and also noticed by crypto exchange Binance which froze accounts allegedly involved in Lazarus Group's efforts.

The "Huobi" referred to in the Tweet above is another crypto exchange and it, too, acted to prevent Lazarus Group resurrecting the proceeds of the Harmony heist for use by the North Korean regime.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/01/17/crypto_exchanges_freeze_lazarus_group/